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BOOKS

Fortress of Dust | Hisn al-turab

Iznatoraf, the ‘Fortress of Dust,’ is a small Andalusian village near Jaén, where this historical novel takes place. It tells the story of a critical time in the Arab and Western history: the fall of the Islamic civilisation in al-Andalus and the ensuing inquisition, torture, and forced conversion of Muslims. The author weaves the story of generations over three centuries around the family of one man of the Moriscos: Mohammed de Molina, beginning before the fall of Granada in 1492 and ending with the crisis of the family after emigration to Morocco, where they now face persecution as Spanish Christians. The story gives an insight on the ordinary Moriscos families whose lives were brushed off by the history books and whose identities were lost among the chaos of the inquisition in al-Andalus. Although the novel is set in the past, it cannot be read in isolation from the current situation in the Arab world, particularly the Arab Spring and the resulting sectarian wars, as well as the persecution of innocent religious groups. In artistic, melodic language that immediately draws the reader in, the writer eloquently employs fantasy in his narrative, adding to the original style of the novel.

Ahmad Abdulatif

A graphic allegory of the classism that exists in Egyptian societyA multilayered novel of a world that comes together as it comes apartAn imprisoned psychologist writes about his relationship with FelliniAn investigation of the life of a lost Egyptian writerConfessions of a penitent turn into a nightmarish journey and end in imprisonment.Funny stories from the Coptic kitchenHorror in an Egyptian villageSalwa has been translated to 17 languagesShortlisted for the Sawiris Cultural Award for Best Novel in 2018Stories that build up to construct a surreal thrillerThe different layers of a relationship between a son and his fatherThe fall of the Islamic civilisation in al-Andalus and one Morisco familyThe mysterious death of a monk at Saint Catherine’s Monastery in SinaiThe saga of Egyptians in 19th-century revolutionary FranceThe world of antiquities and drug dealers in the marginalised society of Upper EgyptWhen crime and religion intersect in Upper EgyptWinner of the Arab Thought Foundation Award 2016Winner of the best novel award at the Cairo International Book fair in 2017, 2020Winner of the Sharjah Award for The Best Arabic Novel 2014Won the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature in 2014. Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) in 2015Won the Sawiris Cultural Award for Best Novel 2019 Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) in 2019Won the Sawiris Emerging Writers Prize for Best Novel in 2014Won the Sawiris Prize for Best Novel in 2020
Ahmad Abdulatif is a novelist, translator, journalist, and researcher, born in Egypt in 1978 and currently living in Madrid. He has a BA in Spanish literature, an MA and PhD in comparative studies from the Autonomous University of Madrid. He is the author of six novels: The Keymaker (2010, winner of the 2011 Egyptian State Encouragement Prize), The Clairvoyant (2012), The Book of the Sculptor (2013, winner of the 2015 Sawiris Cultural Award), Elias (2014), Fortress of Dust (2017, longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction), and Legs That Know the Time to Go Out (2019).

FEATURED BOOKS

Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborumExcepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident.

French Clouds | Ghoyoum Faranseya

The Ways of the Lord | Turuq al-rab

The House of the Copt | Bayt al-qibteya

Shubeik Lubeik | Shubeik lubeik

Slipping | Iflat al-asabi’

The City of Endless Walls | Madinat al-hawaet alla-nehaiya

Zouba’s Theatre | Masrah Zouba